LOS ANGELES — As agent Scott Boras stands near his front-row seat at Dodger Stadium and watches his client, soon to be one of the richest athletes in the world, he can’t help but think about what history might have become. do not have. It has changed dramatically.
Boras has no intention of watching Freddie Freeman’s grand slam in Game 1, which gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees, or Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s treasure in Game 2 of this World Series.
He won’t be watching the Yankees end their longest drought in 30 years and compete for their first World Series since 2009.
Boras believes he will still be watching All-Star right fielder Juan Soto at the World Series, but he will be wearing a San Diego Padres uniform.
“If (Padres owner) Peter Seidler were still alive, none of this would have happened,” Boras told USA TODAY Sports. “Juan would have been with the Padres. He was traded to the Yankees. That shouldn’t have happened.”
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“He would be a priest today.”
And he will remain a priest for the rest of his career.
“Peter and I were on our knees discussing the Juan Soto (contract),” Boras reveals, “and it got pretty advanced. His illness really stopped the process because we knew the organization was going to change. I wanted to push through with it despite my illness.” ”
The contract was never signed.
Mr. Seidler passed away from cancer on November 14, 2023.
“Four days before he died, I got a text message from him saying, ‘Get back online right away,'” Boras said. ”
Three weeks later, Soto was traded to the Yankees.
Boras said: “If Peter were alive, that wouldn’t have happened. Where we were, Peter would have sealed the deal. We were very close. Peter wasn’t afraid.”
Boras said Seidler never allowed Soto to be traded to the Yankees or elsewhere.
“Peter didn’t trade Juan Soto. That can’t be true. He kept saying, ‘I traded him for the franchise, and I’m not going to let him go,'” Boras said. he couldn’t believe them [the Nationals] They traded Juan Soto. He loved Juan. ”
If the Padres keep Soto, the Yankees won’t be beholden to his great season.
And if the Padres had kept Soto, he probably wouldn’t have become one of the greatest young stars to hit the free agent market in baseball history — 8.1 WAR this season and at least 6.0 WAR over the past three seasons. The four seasons were recorded.
“I have an elite WAR in my head, and then I have the rest of the players. Elite player valuations are very extreme because he brings in the market, he brings in the fans, he brings in the broadcasts,” Boras said. said. [revenue] This will increase the evaluation of the player in addition to his performance on the field. ”
Soto, 26, could soon become the highest-paid player in history with a contract worth more than $500 million, which would surpass the current value of Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract, with $680 million interest-free and deferred for 10 years, making it worth $460 million, according to MLB calculations.
“It’s amazing how he came to be a free agent,” Boras said. [crap] To become a free agent. It’s a testament to his intelligence that he turned down offers of $100 million, $200 million, $300 million, $400 million. ”
After rejecting three previous offers, Soto was ultimately offered a 15-year, $440 million contract by the Washington Nationals in 2022, making him the highest-paid player in history at the time.
Soto flatly rejected the offer. He didn’t land a counter. The Nationals traded Soto to the San Diego Padres in July 2022, fearing Soto was committed to testing the free agent market in 2 1/2 years.
Soto helped lead the Padres to the National League Championship Series, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. That only fueled Seidler’s desire to build a powerhouse that could challenge the Dodgers in the National League West. They overspent, signing shortstop Xander Bogaerts, giving Manny Machado a $350 million contract extension, and offering Aaron Judge more than $400 million.
The Padres’ record dropped significantly, failing to reach the postseason with a record of 82 wins and 80 losses, and manager Bob Melvin left the team for San Francisco.
The Padres, who lost more than $200 million in 2023, immediately began cutting his annual salary by $90 million and began publicly buying Soto out to make sure he stayed below the luxury tax, eventually adding to a seven-player package. Traded with.
Soto, who along with Judge was part of the most dynamic one-two punch in history, led the Yankees to their first American League pennant since 2009 after missing the postseason last year, and in October he did everything in his power to ensure the Yankees won. I am doing my best. 28th title.
Soto, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Friday, has homered four times this postseason, including a three-run homer in the 10th inning of the Yankees’ ALCS game in Cleveland in the Yankees’ last four games. He hit home runs in three of those games. He is batting .350 (14 hits in 40 at bats) with a 1.160 OPS in 11 games with the Yankees.
“You can be the best player, you can do whatever you want, but at the end of the day, if you win the World Series, people remember you and what you did for that team,” Soto said. There is,” he said.
The Yankees have made no secret of their desire to bring him back. The crosstown Mets, home to baseball’s richest owner in Steve Cohen, may be beckoning. The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to strongly pursue him to team up with Boras’ client Bryce Harper. The Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants, who fell behind in the race for Ohtani last winter, will now turn their attention to Soto.
Soto’s value has soared that Boras, whose company typically produces glossy binders submitted to clubs to reveal the value of individual stars, doesn’t care about him. I might not be able to keep it.
“He still has elite years left in him and his ceiling is even higher than what he has achieved so far,” Boras said.
No one knows the final price tag, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Soto received a 15-year contract peppered with opt-out clauses. The team believes Soto has the potential to be worth a record investment.
Certainly, we don’t need an algorithm to assess his popularity among Yankees fans. Those sentiments were expressed loud and clear as fans chanted, “Re-sign Soto!” Please re-sign Soto!” Soto ran to the stands and raised his arms during the pennant-clinching victory in Cleveland.
“He was a generational great Yankee, because he was a generational player,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said. “He’s great, man. The Yankees are the mecca of baseball, and he’s exactly where he needs to be. There’s no stage too big for him.
“We need him to stay. He’s going to stay.”
The Yankees can sweet talk him all they want and fans can chant his name from their morning coffee to their evening cocktails, but money speaks loudest.
“He had a hell of a run,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “He enjoyed it. He showed up. He felt like he’d always been here, like he’d adapted himself.
“He earned the right to be a free agent. All those types of discussions are going to happen. [after the World Series.]. ”
Soto reiterated that he wants to remain with the Yankees, but of course there is no hometown discount. Money matters, and if it’s close, the deciding factor will be whether the team plans to be a perennial World Series contender.
“Obviously, every player wants to be happy with where they are,” Soto said. “At the end of the day, whenever you win, you’re going to be really happy.
“So if you have a chance to win anywhere, you’re going to be excited to play for them. I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s the biggest mindset right now.
“Think about where you have the best opportunity to do that and go from there.”
For now, they still need to win the World Series.
“It’s not over yet,” Soto said.
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